One blog I read about the music apps suggested that the pdf reader app might work well enough to view music. Obviously, you wouldn't get the metronome feature or composers. But many of the programs are free. And I don't need too many features for the fiddle music collection... So I'm looking. Went through all these. Don't think so... Need DropBox and a way to handle the music better.... if the first one was free, I'd try it.

PDF Readers For iPad

Handle PDFs the right way

Overview

Using the iPad in business or education means needing to access your PDF files. There are many apps for the iPad that allow for PDF viewing, including Apple's own iBooks. Keep reading below to find out which PDF app is for you. Whether you need access to online storage or a viewer that can handle huge PDF documents, we have got you covered in this AppGuide.

Essential Apps

by Good.iWare Ltd.

GoodReader for iPad has the best balance of features and usability of all the PDF management apps. It has great connectivity with its support for online servers including Dropbox, [I do like dropbox! - bfg] MobileMe, FTP, box.net, FilesAnywhere, Google Docs, WebDAV, and Mail Servers. It also has included support for VGA output so that you can show your documents through a projector. GoodReader is one of those apps that just keeps on improving, making it an essential app for every single iPad out there.

by Readdle

PDF Expert is a fantastic app for those who deal with PDF files often. The app retains a basic interface while giving the user a large variety of features. To begin getting a PDF into the app you can either use the “open in” iOS feature or you can grab files from a computer. Once the PDFs are in, PDF Expert provides many options to manipulate the PDF such as adding stamps, highlights, freeform highlights, notes and signatures. Once you're done editing, you can export the PDF as a regular PDF, flattened copy (that protects your annotations) or an annotation summary. Truth be told, this app shares a lot of functionality with other PDF apps out there, but there is no doubt that PDF Expert presents its features in a clean, intuitive matter and that makes this app one of the best in its category.

Notable Apps

by Avatron Software, Inc.

Air Sharing HD has all of the great connectivity features of GoodReader with the added benefit of a very Mac Finder-like user interface. It does not support VGA output but has its own killer feature: printing to any shared printer on your local Wi-Fi network. It was a very difficult decision not to recommend Air Sharing HD as Essential. Two areas that made up my mind were the relatively expensive price tag and difficulty connecting to FTP servers.

by Readdle

ReaddleDocs also has a friendly user interface and many connectivity choices. It has FTP and VGA but lacks printing support. However, a unique feature for ReaddleDocs is online storage through its own Readdle Storage. You are eligible for a free account with 512MB of storage for sharing files. PDF viewing is straightforward but lacks support for viewing multiple pages in landscape orientation.

by Apple

With Apple's iBooks, PDF support is front and center. When PDFs are added through iTunes, or through App file sharing, a separate book shelf is added for PDFs. The reading experience is quite enjoyable. Connectivity support is lacking and many of the features associated with the above apps are also missing, such as VGA support. However, if you are the type who likes to keep all of your reading content in one place, you will be pleased with the free iBooks.

by EuroSmartz Ltd

Save2PDF is a PDF reader with a unique capability that allows you to create new PDFs from almost any file format. The way it works is simple. Say you have a Word document in another app that has the "Open In" button. You can export the document in Save2PDF which will promptly convert the file into a PDF. You can even merge file formats such as Word and Pages documents into one. While this app doesn’t have features such as annotating, it’s great for people who want to create new PDFs on their iPad.

by MobFarm srl

Fast PDF lives up to its name with both large and small PDF files. Text renders very quickly as you scroll through large documents. It has a nice iBooks-like bookshelf for organizing your files. Files can be downloaded via url, found using the built-in browser, shared via Wi-Fi, or transferred between apps with file sharing. If speed is what you're interested in, then check out Fast PDF.

by PullRibbon

iPDFs, while not the most functional app in the world, can be argued as the prettiest. If you just love those page-turning effects with your PDFs, then iPDFs may be your answer. With book-like page-turning effects and a gorgeous UI, iPDFs is the app of choice for those who are looking for simplicity. For those who are looking for more serious features, this app probably will be underwhelming. With basic note and annotation functionality missing, I recommend you think twice before purchasing this app, unless you are just looking to read PDF books with it.

Decent Apps

by iTECH DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS INC.

PDF Reader Pro is a capable PDF browser with the unique feature of being able to create PDF files. You can access images in your camera roll and combine them into a PDF document that you can read or email. PDFs can be downloaded via url or built-in browser and support text reflow and enhanced text selection. PDF's also have the ability to be synced with iCloud, Google Docs, Dropbox and Sugarsync making it a more connected app than some of its competitors. The bottom line is that if you are looking for a app with a lot of syncing capabilities and don't mind an ugly interface then give this app a try.

by YUYAO Mobile Software, Inc.

This universal PDF reader is really a big iPhone app. The interface and functionality is identical to its iPhone counterpart. PDF importing is limited to iTunes and download via the built-in browser. One unique feature this app provides is PDF scanning/creation using the iPhone's camera. If you want to use this feature on a first-generation iPad, you will obviously need to import images into the camera roll first.

by eNATAL LLC

SimplyPDF forgoes typical iPad gestures like pinch to zoom and scrolling, and simply employs tap gestures. The screen is divided into zones for tap forward, backward, and show/hide controls. Once you get used to the interface, you can move around PDF files very quickly. Even though you can't pinch to zoom, you can still zoom using the Focus tool.

by Cross Forward Consulting, LLC

Just PDF has some nice features such as Dropbox integration and VGA output. However, the interface when scrolling and zooming is slow and the app doesn't support protected PDF files. This will be a deal breaker for some.

by Adobe

The famous Adobe Reader has now made its way over to iOS. Unfortunately, like the desktop version and unlike other apps here, it doesn’t do very much. About the most you can do is view and organize PDFs as well as their annotations. You cannot make new PDFs, annotate existing ones or really do anything interesting at all. This app is not nearly on the level it should be, but, it's free, so it may still be worth the download.

PDF Annotation

by Branchfire, Inc.

iAnnotate PDF fills a great gap on the iPad, which is a full-featured app dedicated to PDF annotation. With iAnnotate you can easily highlight, underline, strike through, add hand written comments, and add text comments to PDF files. The annotations are embedded into the PDF and will show up as annotations in Preview or Acrobat. Hopefully the app will support text boxes in the near future, because right now the only typed text you can enter are comments. iAnnotate is a powerful PDF viewer and editor.

by DanielBorsukApps

SmileyDocs is a file manager for most office documents, but it provides additional features for PDF files, including highlighting and text notes. Documents can be imported through file sharing and Dropbox. The annotation and file management features need to mature a bit. Highlights and notes disappear when zooming, and once documents have been added it is unclear how to delete them.

More Than PDFs

by Quickoffice, Inc.

You may not think of PDF files when you think of Quickoffice, but it is a capable repository for all of your document formats. If you want to keep all of your work-related files together and you already own Quickoffice, your search for a PDF management app may be over.

by DataViz, Inc.

Documents To Go recently added more online connectivity with Dropbox, Box.net, iDisk, and SugarSync. Its PDF viewer supports protected PDFs, zoom and reflow. If Documents To Go is already your editor of choice, then this is a viable PDF management system. It is also a universal app so you can add all of this functionality to your iPhone as well.

by Light Room

If your workflow is built around the Google Apps and Google Docs, then you will want to check out GoDocs. All office-style documents as well as audio and video are viewable within the app. In addition to syncing and downloading your most current version, you can also access past revisions of documents. Lastly, it supports multiple Google account access.

PDF Readers For Comics

by Cloud Readers

CloudReaders is another option for comic book fans. It supports landscape files, external display support for presenting your documents, brightness control, and tagging. Free online public domain books and comics are also accessible via the "cloud bookshelf.

Columbus Dulcimer Club uses forScore for the music. I bought an I-pad first generation just to use for music. It works great!

Dulcimer music is individually scanned and saved to pdf. I have been doing it that way for years on publicdomaindulcimer at yahoo groups. The only thing I found is I didn't want to be turning pages if at all possible. We usually play through tunes 3-5 times and turning pages multiple times would be necessary. One page is easier. So the lyrics are really small now on the songs that I have condensed down. But usually if I sing, I don't strum, too. With a group of 20-25 dulcimer players, my strumming isn't missed.

Dulcimer music has many tunings. Most is in DAA or DAD. I have saved the music with the tuning as part of the name. And if it is 1-page or 2 pages if I have multiple copies. I will also add "capo" to the name if it uses a capo.

What the dulcimer music doesn't need is "composers". So I use the composer field for tunings. And there can be multiple composers so I also have CDC for Columbus Dulcimer Club and DAAC for the the Clintonville Beginning Dulcimer Club. The reasons why I do this are:

When you look at the music in "All Scores" view, the composer is listed in gray right above the song title. So I can easily see if I have every song labeled.

And I can search on "unknown composer" to bring up any songs I haven't labeled.

I can pull up just the DAA songs, just the DAD songs, just the Columbus Dulcimer Club songs...

Most of the tunes are public domain and the composer would be "traditional". If there is a composer, I try to have the name on the actual music. I have never wanted to pull out certain music by composer's name.

I also play other instruments. Rather than try to have all the music in forScore, I am using other apps for those. I would like to have forScore running 3x. Maybe it is possible, but I don't have the time or ambition to figure it out. So I have tried out "GigBook" which I like, too.

Having tried GigBook now, I prefer forScore for dulcimer music. I can have multiple composers in forScore. GigBook only allows one composer. But I really like GigBook for my other music.

GigBook has "Collections". Scanning non-stop is easier than scanning individual songs. I have four-inch books of music that I printed on 8-1/2"x11" paper. Music I have collected for years. I scanned my most popular "book". I then went through and "Super Book Marked" each song. (Took a few hours to do it all...) I can go through the music in the original "book" and it is really easy to jump page to page. Each song is also listed individually in the All Scores". Love it!

I can then make "Binders" of music. So I have a binder of "autoharp and sing music", "children's music", "guitar and sing music", "hammer dulcimer and sing", "hymns for Sunday"....

I tried using composers as composers but decided against it. Instead of composers I put the instrument I usually use to accompany the song. So I have autoharp, guitar, hammer, jawharp, no instrumental, saw, and stumpfiddle as composers. If I play the song only on guitar, I put guitar. If I do both autoharp and guitar, I put autoharp. GigBook only allows one composer for a song. So I can't use the program the same way I used forScore.

Both programs have more things that can be done with them. Don't know if I will ever use some of them.

I haven't used either program extensively, but right now, I'm very happy with both.

Now, to look for one more app. I would like two more. One for piano music. One for fiddle music....

Saturday, April 27, 2013

When I arranged the music for dulcimer, I made it easy to read and often on two pages. Now that I am putting the music on the i-pad, I don't want to have to turn pages unless it is really necessary. So I've taken some of my favorite songs that I still had the Encore version and making the tab bigger and reducing them to one page.

I have done a couple of new songs. Columbus Dulcimer Club has some nice music and I grabbed onto a couple of those and rearranged them a bit and posted to publicdomaindulcimer.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

"I don't understand why you like playing that when you can turn on the radio and get good music."

Someone once said that to me.

How do you explain hearing to a deaf person?

Making music is more than singing or playing as well as a professional. Homemade music doesn't have to be at a professional level to be enjoyable and wonderful. We've been robbed of homemade music in this society by the music industry along with TV, radio, recordings. Many of us are AFRAID to make music because of people who make statements like the one above.

I love the dulcimer and dulcimer music because it gives music back to the less talented, the people with not enough time to devote to becoming truly proficient at music. We don't have to be good to enjoy making our own music. Simple chords and singing can be absolutely wonderful. There is so much love, expression, happiness, that comes from within when you make music. Picking out a melody, playing a simple instrument, when it is done with feeling is all that is required to make your own symphony of happiness.

Monday, April 15, 2013

I hate to have to change my webhost and move my email, but yahoo is getting AWFUL! I have flashing ads when I want to read my mail. This is not my free webservice. This is my PAID webservice. And there is an ad that pops up in the bottom right hand corner AND there are more ads on the left hand side on the bottom. When yahoo upgraded the website service, they deleted ALL my websites and blog. I had to put them all up again. I am finding that my websites are being hacked? maybe... because I am finding words on my webpage that are being linked to ads. I have a bunch of yahoo groups and am getting double posts on most of the every day. Got suggestions for reliable websites and email?

Unless yahoo gets rid of the flashing ads and reduces the pile of ads... if I opt out, it's done by cookies. If I delete the cookies, I'll get the ads but not all the advertisers have agreed to let me opt out. So can't get rid of the ads. If I click on the "close button" on the ad, it takes you right to the ad's website.

04/15/2013

Turns out it was MALWARE!!!! Even the ads at the bottom that said yahoo.com were. I used Malwarebytes anti-malware. There were 6 items it removed and no more problem!!!

I was really upset about it. Glad I finally got hold of someone at yahoo - it takes going through a bunch of help pages until you finally get to where you can call.... But she was very helpful and the problem is gone!!

And the thing is... if those malware folks hadn't gotten so greedy with the quantity of ads, I'd still have ads on my emails and webpages!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Members of the Columbus Dulcimer Club were using I-pads for music instead of hauling a fat book like I have. And being the computer nerd that I am, I wanted one, too!

So I bought and I-pad first generation from E-Bay. Found one in mint condition.

It came! Now what?

I don't own a Mac. I have a PC. Didn't have wireless. Couldn't get to program I needed onto the I-pad without wireless. Couldn't use Bob Evans wireless, either.

So I visited a friend long enough to use his wireless to download "forScore". Then I could get my pdf dulcimer music onto it through ITunes. But over the years, I didn't save copies of everything that I did on my computer but most I had uploaded to my yahoo group "publicdomaindulcimer". I had started that group a long time ago when there wasn't much dulcimer music on the net. Anyone can join and download any or all the music. I arranged all of it for public domain. So I downloaded all the music and it is not on my I-pad.

I have so much music that I think I am only going to use forScore for the dulcimer music. My guitar, autoharp, hammer dulcimer music will have to go into a different program...

I want to get a new scanner, too. I have an old one that will save to jpg but not pdf. Jim wants an I-pad, too.

Yesterday morning I downloaded Dropbox. I wish I had done that years ago before I lost a hard drive. Seems you never get everything saved...

It is a great online backup that is free until you need more space. And it is easy to use!

Today I called Doug from Columbus Dulcimer Club and he gave me access to the club music in his dropbox and it downloaded directly into forScore on the I-pad. So tomorrow on my lunch break at work, I will go through the club music and add it to a playlist and catagorize the songs.

We are a small group and the people are not a set group yet. It may be too much of a beginning group for some people. We are working on the very basic music skills: strumming, tuning, timing, listening, playing with others.

What I envision, is to keep this group going to teach all the basic playing skills.

I attend the Columbus Dulcimer Club which plays in DAD and is a bit advanced, and is too advanced for my Clintonville members to be able to play at their level soon.

I would like to eventually start up another group much the Firelands Dulcimer Club I belonged to that still meets in Norwalk, Ohio. We had limberjacks, guitars, a fiddle, a hammer dulcimer, bodhran, I took a ventriloquist dummy at one point (sold him). We performed for nursing homes, at a couple festivals... all fun. We would let audience members try the limberjacks and play until everyone who wanted, had a turn. We sang. Some members did solos and duets. The Columbus Dulcimer Club might turn into that, but if not, maybe another club. I think Columbus can use more folk music clubs. When I had practiced a tune well enough to perform, I pulled out my tin whistle, bodhran, clapped, sang.... Eventually I practiced enough to be able to play all the songs.

So if you like folk music and the dulcimer, come join us at our beginner's club. And then go with me also to the Columbus Dulcimer Club.

Overview

The iPad is not only influencing the way that students, teachers, and businesses function but is also affecting musicians. Last month I performed my first recital where I used my iPad to display the sheet music. It was liberating not having to worry about fitting all of the pages onto my stand. My practicing has also been changed by the iPad. Now when I travel I have my complete library of music available to practice. The following AppGuide compares the available sheet music readers for the iPad. Gigging may never be the same.

Essential Apps

forScore - Maybe... - I need to look at this one. The Columbus Dulcimer Club members use this and like it.

by MGS Development

For my money, forScore is the best sheet music viewer on the iPad. It was one of the first apps of this kind on the iPad and has come a long way since its debut. It combines ease of use and simplicity with features that working musicians will appreciate, such as easy navigation, annotation features including a notes section for program notes, zoom to eliminate margins, hotspots for tricky repeats, iPod-linked audio files, and easy file transfer. Scores in PDF format can be imported via iTunes as well as through file sharing with apps such as GoodReader.[??? huh??? ]If you are a pianist it comes with a decent collection of piano repertoire. The developers have been quick to enhance the feature set and hopefully they will come up with a hands-free page turning option in the future. If your looking to perform with your iPad, forScore is an essential app for your musician's toolbox.

DeepDish GigBook - NOPE - has some terrible reviews!! Needs to be updated and fixed

by Deep Dish Designs, LLC

GigBook is designed for the musician who is using their iPad on stage for performance. [This is important to me....] The setlist and metronome features are particular suited for onstage usage. The large font makes moving through the setlist a breeze. The metronome uses a unique design to allow for setting initial tempos without getting in the way of the performance. If you find yourself using your iPad not only in the practice room but also on stage, you should check out GigBook for its features specifically geared toward the performing musician. With a great setlist view, tap function metronome, and many organizational tools, GigBook is designed to get you through your next gig with ease.

Notable Apps

by Aron Nelson

A unique feature that sets unrealBook apart from the other sheet music apps is direct import access to Dropbox. [ Dropbox is free up to 2 GB - mentioned at Club. ]You can enter your Dropbox name and password and download your scores directly from within unrealBook. The app also supports annotation, including text input, iPod library access, setlists, and hotspots for repeats. The user interface isn't as intuitive as forScore but unrealBook has a lot of potential as a sheet music viewer.

by Leoné MusicReader B.V.

MusicReader for iPad is a free app but it requires the desktop counterpart for importing scores. MusicReader for the Mac is a mature sheet music management application that turns your Mac into a music stand. The desktop application includes music notation symbols for annotating your scores. The big downside to this app on the iPad is that it will not accept standard PDF files. Instead, PDF files need to be imported into MusicReader on the Mac and then synced to your iPad. Also, the expensive desktop app will deter many from adopting this app on the iPad.

by MASPware

NotationPad focuses on annotation is its key feature. Scores are imported via iTunes, and then need to be imported each time the app is launched. A wide variety of musical symbols are provided for annotation. The symbols can be easily resized and moved around the score and they look professional. Everything from accidentals and clefs, to ornaments and repeat signs can be added to your score. Annotated scores can be emailed as PDF or JPG but unfortunately only one page at a time.

Decent Apps

by Sixth Corner

Medley is a simple sheet music viewer. Page turns are fast and render quickly and scores can be transferred via file sharing from other apps. A simple pen tool provide annotations. This pretty much sums up Medley. It is functional but lacks many features of similarly-priced apps.

by Orange Slide Apps, Inc.

Sheet Music Mobile is a very simple music reader. However, it has one serious downfall, in that the screen refresh rate is very slow on page turns. This app would be fine for practicing, but I couldn't rely on the slow page turns in performance.

by Drake Applications

Forzando displays PDF sheet music acceptably and also has a built in basic synthesizer for playing simple melodies. However, the designer has opted for a scrolling document instead of page turns. I prefer to be able to tap or swipe for page turns as opposed to scrolling, which isn't consistent in how far the music scrolls.

No Personal Sheet Music

by DensanSystem Co.,Ltd.

SonataNote is a beautiful app for learning how to play classical piano pieces. The app comes with a modest selection of pieces and plays back a recording of the piece while highlighting the measure for following along. The interface is kind of like iBooks for sheet music. You can't load your own music and so this isn't for everyone, but it is a well-designed piano tutor.

by Virtuosi LLC

eScore provides access to public domain piano works and orchestral scores. It also links to wikipedia articles about composers. It's an app definitely for the music lover, but not for the musician looking to import and read their own scores.

by Musicnotes

Musicnotes Sheet Music Viewer is a front end app for the Musicnotes.com website. Sheet music for a wide variety of instruments and styles may be purchased for download with the iPad app. There is a wide selection of intermediate music for piano, guitar, voice, winds, and strings. However, this is not an app that you can simply use to read your personally scanned scores.

by QD Ideas, LLC

Sheets is another app that provides access to sheet music but does not allow importing of personal scores. Over 1000 pieces, primarily classical, are included here for piano, guitar, organ, voice, cello, and more.

by Garren Langford

Sheet Music Live HD is really in a category all its own. This app accepts standard MIDI files either downloaded from the internet or imported from your computer and then creates sheet music based on the MIDI file. Generated sheet music can then be emailed as a PDF file for printing. With literally thousands of MIDI files across the internet, your sheet music collection could grow rapidly.

So I'm looking at software. The apps for IPad look cheap enough. May buy both and try them out....

DeepDish GigBook turns your iPad into a truly accessible mobile musical library, keeping your scores, songbooks, charts, and lyric sheets at the tip of your fingers, ready at a moment’s notice. With its powerful organizing features you can sort your music to fit your individual needs. Keep all your songbooks in one place with “Collections”. Compile scores into infinite personalized Binders. Create dynamic Set Lists. Carry hundreds or thousands of scores with you wherever you play. DeepDish GigBook is built specifically with the performing musician in mind, with tools and a user interface no other sheet music reader offers.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I lived in Sandusky and was a longtime member of the Firelands Dulcimer Club. We had a good time and the club still does. We got regular PR in the local newspapers. We played at local festivals and other events.

It is different here in Columbus. There are so many music majors from the local colleges and professional musicians that homemade music seems to have gotten a bit lost. There is something special about making music yourself. You don't have to be good at it, just have fun doing it. I think the amateur musicians here are more self conscious and think they have to play as well as a professional musician before they can perform for anyone. But I have watched many professional musicians perform who don't look like they are having any fun. That is the key to it. If you have fun playing, even if you aren't very good, people will enjoy your performance.

About Me

My daughter once informed me (few years ago) that she and her friends had voted me the weirdest mom in Sandusky, Ohio. She said it was because I played weird folk instruments, ate weird food (natural foods is not the norm!), and did weird things like go to dowsing meetings - nobody else's mom did things like that.
Well, I'm still weird if not more so. I still pull out my musical saw and dulcimers at times, go to dowsing meetings, believe in alternative health - natural foods...
Things do not become true just because they have been published and repeated over and over again. And maybe the reason we don't know the truth is because we aren't looking for it. And the reason we aren't looking for it is because we really don't want to know it. We like the status quo. We might have to think for ourselves. It's easier being "normal".
Yes, I'm definitely weird but probably not the weirdest in Columbus, Ohio. I've got more company here....